


four minutes and fifty seven seconds

by MaddieandChimney



Series: AU: Pour Some Sugar On Me [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Oops, but - Freeform, not smutty i promise, part 2 of the stripper au, that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26404978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: It’s been a week since that night, an entire week and she still can’t stop thinking about it. Or more specifically, him. And it’s crazy, she knows that much because he was just some insanely gorgeous man doing his job and she absolutely should not, in any way, shape or form, still be obsessing over someone she had a four minute fifty seven second dance from.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: AU: Pour Some Sugar On Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898176
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	four minutes and fifty seven seconds

It’s been a week since _that_ night, an entire week and she still can’t stop thinking about it. Or more specifically, _him._ And it’s crazy, she knows that much because he was just some insanely gorgeous man doing his job and she absolutely should not, in any way, shape or form, still be obsessing over someone she had a four minute fifty seven second dance from (yes, she had listened to the song more than once since… sometimes she just needed some _help_ in… that department).

Maddie is starting to think she’s going crazy, that is the only explanation for it – she’s been in relationships with men, even had a one night stand or two in the past and not once has she just been so completely unable to just.. let go. So, why the hell can’t she forget about the man she only knew as Chimney? Just the thought of him touching her makes her skin feel as though it’s on fire, the memory of him grinding up against her sends a pooling tension to her stomach and when he had whispered in her ear? Her knees almost buckle at the thought of it all and how can she be so enamoured with a stripper whose literal job was to appeal to women and men for money?

It’s as though the universe hates her, or maybe just really, truly loves her because she’s been in this grocery store a hundred times and not once has she ever seen him before. And she’s certain she would have noticed those eyes and that dazzling smile that – despite the fact he had been wearing next to no clothes – she had noticed in the club that night. But there he is, staring at the back of a cereal box, barely feet away from her and she suddenly can’t breathe.

It’s made worse because she has actually _thought_ about this moment, she had imagined bumping into him somewhere random like the grocery store as she laid in bed and closed her eyes. Only, he had been wearing a lot less than what he was wearing right then, and his body had been covered in a sheen of sweat and—“Hey, you’re the sister of that excitable groom to be, right?”

He’s talking to her. Why is he talking to her? Her cheeks flush red and whilst she had read more than enough books on heart attacks and seen enough in the ER, she’s never experienced one herself and maybe this is what it feels like. The symptoms were different in women than they were in men and he’s looking at her as though she’s supposed to answer and there’s a regret in his eyes that only causes her to panic even more. This was definitely not what she had fantasised – in her imagination she had been confident, borderline arrogant as she ran her hands down his chest and pressed her body to his. Reality had left her unable to even register anything other than the fact he had recognised her and she hadn’t even told him her name, was that rude of her? Was she meant to tell him her name when he had introduced himself as Chimney? Was there stripper etiquette her brother hadn’t filled her in on as he and his now husband had just let make a complete fool of herself instead.

She’s sure he’s about to walk away when she finally opens her mouth and whilst it feels as though it’s been hours since he spoke, it’s only been seconds as dares herself to look him (in the face and most definitely not at the t-shirt he’s wearing as though he’s just popped into the store on his way home from the gym and those shorts…). She catches herself before her thoughts can go any further down the gutter, reminding herself to slap her brother (and her brother in law) the moment they both get back from their honeymoon because it’s completely and utterly their fault.

“Um, actually just groom now, I guess. But yeah—I’m Maddie.” It comes out more confident than she had even thought possible, only slight tremble in her voice as she introduces herself, unsure whether she should hold out her hand to shake his or whether she should just grip onto her shopping basket a little tighter. He grins at her, and her eyes flash to his slightly exposed biceps, hidden by baggy t-shirt sleeves and somehow he still looks good. His hair is a mess, a small sweat stain covering the chest of the red material and suddenly she has a whole new image to cement in her mind that night as she utilises her new favourite toy and listens to her new favourite song. Okay, so maybe her brother was right, it really had been too long.

“Howard.” That confuses her for a second, until she remembers that _Chimney_ was just a stripper name, named aptly for his… well, for reasons made obvious the moment she had laid eyes on him and even more obvious when he had ground his hips down onto her thigh. Her eyes meet his and she bites down on her lip and the smirk on his face lets her know that he knows exactly what he is doing to her and it’s probably the same effect he has on so many women and men who had seen him perform.

“You don’t look like a Howard.” The words fall from her lips before she can stop them and her nose scrunches up because really, can she embarrass herself even more than she already has? She’s entirely certain he regrets the decision he had even approached her in the first place.

Instead, he laughs and shrugs his shoulders, “My friends call me Howie.” That suits him more, it’s actually adorable. “So, you come here often?” It’s probably the most overused, cheesiest line but he says it with such confidence, a glint in his eyes and a smile on his face that she can’t stop the blush that appears on her cheeks or the giggle that falls from her lips.

“Well, I do… but you definitely don’t. I’m sure I would have noticed you before.” She has no idea where that sudden spurt of confidence comes from but there it is, taking a leaf from her brother’s book as she tries not to over-think every single word that she utters.

She seems to take him by surprise, and she already finds herself completely enticed by his laugh before he shrugs his shoulders, “Just joined the gym down the road. Do you workout?” She can only imagine how much time it must take in the gym to maintain those abs she had been so tempted to run her hands over, the strong thighs that had tightened around her own as he swayed his hips in time to all too typical song _Pour Some Sugar On Me._

Maddie laughs, unable to stop herself from wondering if he was flirting with her before she takes a breath, “I’m a Nurse, that’s enough of a workout in itself. I run sometimes? And by that I mean, my brother in law, Eddie, drags me out for morning runs when we’re both off shifts because my brother won’t go with him.”

“A Nurse, huh?” His head tilts to the side and he looks her up and down and it doesn’t feel at all as though he’s objectifying her, she wants him to look at her in the same way she had been looking at him (and probably objectifying him, but hey, that couldn’t be helped). “Well, Nurse Maddie, maybe you can…” He pulls his phone from his pocket and she watches him with curiosity as he types something in and then hands it to her, “… pop your number in there and we can workout together sometime?”

She doesn’t take the phone from him straight away, a frown appearing on her face that must give away the complete offence that’s building up inside of her. Did he really think she was that kind of woman? Perhaps she had thought about him in that way but she hadn’t had a one night stand since she was nineteen and in college and she wants more than that, maybe not with him but with _someone_.

The sudden change in mood must be obvious because it’s the first time he looks nervous, his eyes widening and his head quickly shaking before he moves his phone a little closer, his own frown mirroring hers. “That came out way smuttier than I intended, I meant we could go for a run, although I wouldn’t be completely opposed but I promise… I like to get to know a woman first.”

Maddie takes a breath, finally taking his phone in her own trembling fingers before she carefully types out her number, handing his phone back to him with a smile. “I wouldn’t be completely opposed either but let’s stick with the run for now.”

Chimney’s – Howard’s – smile is bright, his eyes lighting up when he takes the phone back from her and looks down at it before his head tilts back up. “Speak soon, Maddie.” She’s sure she could listen to the way he says her name all day, as she chews down on her bottom lip and digs her nails into the palm of her hands in an attempt to quell the building tension in her stomach that rises to her chest.

“Speak soon, Howard.”

It’s not until she moves to walk past him, that he calls after her, “ _You_ can call me Howie.” And she finds herself blushing, shooting him a smile before she walks away and turns into the next aisle, her heart beating hard and fast. A part of her is tempted to text her brother even though he’s living his best life in Disney World with his new husband and their son Christopher, instead, she’s distracted by the sound of her phone beeping.

Maddie takes a breath before she opens the text from an unknown number, unable to stop the smile from growing impossibly more as she reads the words ‘how does seven tomorrow morning sound? Can meet here if that’ll make you more comfortable?’ and she looks around to make sure no one is looking at her as she giddily types out her own response.

A run at seven in the morning often sounded like the furthest thing from fun when Eddie was letting himself into her apartment and dragging her out of bed but now, she feels an excitement build inside of her. Running could be fun, she supposed.


End file.
